, 1887-12-07

He is known when spiIit has touched
spirit. 1t Gods existence I've not al
ready moving in the heart; II our spir-
it does not reconnize the cause Of
causes and feel it us the movement OF
the Ever Near, no scientific process
can reveal Him. Eye hath not seen
the truths which are clear enough to
love; the perception Of the divine is
IL sentiment, not process.
A high and lucid intellect is pos.
sessed by few; were the most de.irale
Of all Knowledge to come to man
thought, religion would become II
specially like science. 1t would be
held by u caste IL would be mOnopo-
lizvd by the priest, from whom the
many must take it at second hand.
But all men have spiritual natures
all have Affections, 80 the revelation of
Gud--whici is the knowledge Of God,
enters humanity by the broad road.
1t comes through the universal and not
through the exceptional faculty. 1t
comes to all through that quality
winch we share in common with the
weakest and the lowest.
al thank thee, Father" said the
son Of man, "that though hast hid this
thug from the wise and hast revealed
il unto babes" Those who know,
feel they feel the iptinilude of truth,
and reir aiing into the inner shrine
oI our humanity, recognise that God
must be lelt. and only 80 understood.
Ye men oi Athens, said Paul, you
have spent your past life in trying To
realize II God outside of yours, Ives.
Now reverse the process consider
what is yelling up within sou; there
yuu will find the centre OF the uni
verse aud the throne of Deity. You
have worshiped with your eyes open ;
now worship with closed eyes. Look
inward. there is God. The one thing
unkuowablo is yet known. The human
types of the infinite and divine at
once veil and unvcil. We feel the
eternal because we are eternal. We
are lllcd with God. We are Of il
because of all things 1t is most we our
selves.
The inmcst OF each of us is spark
of Deity enwrarped i'll matter and
encasod in time. IN the world within
we behold on every side some sign oi
divine presence God gives witness OF
himself in every soul he creates
Space and time, the globe and the
heavens, are but the garment Of the
G"dhead. The world glistcns with
God, and the symbolism is everywhere
Then God becomes the known un-
knowable. He is II necessary atlirma-
tive, and AL opposing negatives are
only relative aud apparent. All light
is from God, and al wisdom is the
breath of his spirit
This was the winged "word" which
Christianity brought to the philosophy
OF Greece 10y the lips OF Paul. Now
the human mind is one everywhere,
and as IA drop OF water holds all the
sea, the experience OF Greece mirrors
the universal experience OF man.
Christeudom is full Of ultars to the
unknown God, and thousand Pauls
are needed to proclaim anew the old,
yet ever new truth Of the inward pre-.
sence of the infinite in the heart Of
humanity.
Liberal Christianity repeats to-day
the sublime message delivered by him
OF Tarsus on the hill of Mars, ana with
the same result. The few listen and
the many 20 their way to the worship
of the unknown. This worship is al.
ways fashionable, aud its affairs are
found on every street. Wei have altars
where blood makes atonement and OPT.
nion saves altars to baptismal regene.
ratiCn; to sect conversion, to miracles,
to divine partialty and favoritism to
imputed rS hteOusne to election and
probation; to bible worship; to ever
lasting burnings to salvation through
dogma rather than character. Infinite
are the varieties of religious drlu>iun /;
inconceivable the fantasies which men
insCribc on their affairs where the true
iother is unknown. Religion thus de-
praved is the stronghold of the selfish
| principle in man. What shall it profit
IL man ii he gain thousand creeds
and formulas and lose the touch and
consciousness of God in the soul.
We nj ust hold fast to the belief that
God is the present father o. the world.
We must actually credit that while he
the shepherds by the song Of the angel
host, to Joseph by dream, to Peter
by vision, he has also an unsyllabled
voice for every earnest and enquiring
spirit in the world. Men commonly
believe in II divine presence in the sll-
pernntural; they recognize God in the
marvellous; but feel him not in the
wonderful of every day, and see not his
constant presence, reminding us that
in everyday existence the miraculous
and godlike rule us. In much of the
theology God Is scarcely living God
He did once live some eighteen centtl.
ries ago, bat that divine life has gone
back again into the sky, The canon
is closed The proofs that he once
was are in the things that he once has
made, and the books of men to whom
he once spake; but he inspires, and
speaks, and works wonders no more
lie gives us proofs of "design" instead
II his personal presence, dogmas in
| -t...,I L L.